KUALA LUMPUR: School authorities should only hire security companies which have the skills and capacity to ensure students' safety, said Education deputy minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

Schools should select companies which adhered to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on safety matters within and outside the school compounds, he added.

"I urge all security companies with contracts of service with schools to ensure their personnel are trained, have clean records and follow the SOP, especially to monitor movements in and out of the school compounds," he told reporters after closing the Mekar Language and Literature Day here today.